“Are we ruled by a criminal syndicate not much different from the Sinaloa or Medellin cartels?”
I had pre-written six articles for submission as a series on the early “start” of the election season, the last two which I intended to submit for this week.
But earth-shaking political events transpired last week, one being the telecast of the hearings at the ICC against our former president. Not being a lawyer, I would leave it to the lawyers who also write columns and others in the legal profession to analyze the developments in these confirmation hearings.
The real shocker was the Feb. 24 press conference called by Atty. Levi Baligod, the lawyer of whistle-blower Benhur Luy regarding the Napoles bribery of several legislators over “ghost” foundations allegedly for the poor.
Surprisingly, the newspaper which first exposed the Baligod/Luy expose in a series of articles, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, ignored the press conference of the 18 ex-military men employed by Elizaldy S. Co, chief manipulator of the 2023/24/25 national budgets which provided the funds for the greatest robbery of the public till in our entire history.
What the difference the years make.
I watched an interview of Baligod in an afternoon show, where the interviewer was arguing with clear bias against the lawyer, mouthing non sequiturs in angry manner, questioning his credentials as if ordered by the station owner to do so.
The only difference between her and Claire Castro was that her English was grammatical.
But Baligod was calm and composed and tried mightily hard not to put the interviewer in her rightful place as a feisty Topacio, a sarcastic Panelo, or even a Larry Gadon would have.
The joint affidavit of the ex-military men, replete with dates, addresses and photos, named the highest officials in our government, from the “usual suspects” because they were the inquisitors of the QuadCom and other HoR Committees, including the noisy leftists, to senators you did not expect to be recipients of Zaldy’s “surrogate” benevolence.
One congressman the day after was visibly morose, because the delivery of several suitcases was clearly in his house, received by a uniformed kasambahay his relatives and friends knew so well.
The joint affidavit which lawyer Baligod brought to the Ombudsman last Thursday not only corroborate ex-Master Sgt. Orly Guteza’s testimony before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. It gave more flesh and substance.
I recall how Medal of Valor awardee and ex-Marine Col. Ariel Querubin making a plea to his comrades-in-arms after the Guteza appearance before the Senate, where he called on the other ex-Marines similarly situated, to “come out if they too are bothered by their conscience”.
It took a while for these soldiers to come out, prompted perhaps by what they have witnessed in the past two months as a glaring conspiracy to cover-up the guilt of the “VIPs” and to selectively prosecute only those who serve no further value to the present leadership, or have become “too hot to handle”.
Well, better late than never. And their presenter, Atty. Baligod, has the moral ascendancy based on his role in exposing the Napoles scandal, to do a second time around.
The challenge is now upon the Ombudsman to properly investigate the veracity of the affidavit-complaint.
Ombudsman Boying Remulla was my colleague in Malacanang during the Erap presidency, when he was an undersecretary at the Presidential Management Staff, and I was Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs.
We have both played roles in several political crises in our careers, and despite his being part of a political dynasty, I still trust that he will do what is right by his conscience.
The onus is also on another good friend and former principal, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who I assisted in his several exposes on the corruption attendant to the administration of then PGMA, from Jose Pidal to NBN-ZTE, to the “bridges to nowhere” and several others.
Senator Lacson is chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee which is charged with the duty to investigate in aid of legislation—malfeasance, misfeasance, and non-feasance in government.
Malacanang’s lady mouthpiece, as usual, was in angry denial mode, seeing ghosts of destabilizers instead of responding with facts.
All these reactions and non-reactions cannot paper over the layers upon layers of evidence which have surfaced and have yet to surface.
It is beginning to look like a movie where anti-narcotics agents discover billions and billions of cash hidden behind the woodwork, except that in this case, what we see are cheap “maletas” and paper bags delivered to the people’s elect via armored vehicles, helicopters and jets.
Are we ruled by a criminal syndicate not much different from the Sinaloa or Medellin cartels?
God help us.
